Letter: Progress considerable for women

Thursday

Mar 13, 2014 at 4:00 AM

Editor:

Women's History Month is a time to celebrate strides and accomplishments women have experienced in this country. It's also about what still needs to be done in terms of removing any remaining socially constructed impediments that slow the pace of achieving equity in every conceivable dimension of human endeavor.

The passage of the 19th amendment was a tectonic shift for women in America. Some of the momentum of this hard won victory was funneled into the Civil Rights movement, which later gave birth to the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which have profoundly transformed the conditions of women and minorities. Before then, enrollment in higher education was predominantly males but today women account for 50-60 percent of it. In 1972, approximately 9.2 percent of women were enrolled in law school but that percentage is approaching 50 percent today. Consequently, five of the 12 appellate courts of Ohio including the Ohio Supreme Court are predominantly women and one of the Appeal courts in particular, the 9th District Court that covers Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties, are all female judges. In 2010, 62 percent of associate degrees, 57 percent of bachelor's degrees, 60 percent of masters degrees, and 51 percent of doctoral degrees were awarded to women. In 2011, about 48.4 percent of MD degrees were awarded to women, which was a dramatic increase from 26.8 percent in 1983. Also, within each racial group women are earning more degrees than their male counterparts.

The progress women have experienced since the inception of the Civil Rights Act is based on a very simple idea: When the playing field is level and all the participants are given equal access, everybody strives to the limits of their ability which inevitably translates to the uplifting of the society at large. Essentially, these laws are able to create the parameters where these experiences are possible. Right now, it might be tempting to be complacent, but not yet, not until anyone seeking equality and justice gets it. There is still much work to be done particularly in violence against women and equal pay for equal work.

As we celebrate the Women's History Month let's be mindful that we are all woven in the same fabric of space-time, and as a consequence shouldn't rest until all vestiges of discrimination are eliminated. Idealism makes us very hopeful. Doesn't it? Happy Women's History Month.